The island is opposite the town of Bolinas, near Stinson Beach, California, and is surrounded by mud flats at low tide.

The plan would have begun by dredging mud from the northern end of the lagoon and depositing it on the island to give it more height and to increase the overall size.

The construction phase would have included a hotel and restaurant, both with parking lots, as well as an office, a boat facility and marina for up to 1,500 watercraft, and a helicopter pad.

Humans approaching the seals closer than 100 meters caused the animals to leave the sites much more often than activities by people at a greater distance.

[10] Other avian life includes the long-billed curlew, willets, ring-billed gulls, marbled godwits, American avocets, and black-bellied plovers.